The copyright law is something that has become a topic of discussion in the age of the Internet. The Internet has given us the ability to send and receive information whether we have created it or not. The first rumblings of a potential problem to the copyright laws was the computer function of burning discs. With this ability you could take information from your computer and redistribute it at a reduced or non-existent price. This ability has cost recording companies and artists a lot of money, so how does the copyright law protect them? To answer this question we have to look at the origin of the law.
The copyright law was founded in 1790 as a way to encourage and stimulate economic growth. The law was put in place to give creative protection to aspiring American writers, charters and map makers who stood to make a profit from the redistribution of their work. However, this law was not originally American. In 1709 the British had something called the Statute of Anne. This law prevented printers, booksellers and other persons from printing, reprinting, republishing, or causing any of these actions to the detriment of the writer. This original law expressed British people’s belief that intellectual and creative property as original and protect-able.
In 1891 the U.S. Government put in place the International Copyright Act that protected not only U.S. citizens, but also everyone in the world. This act was quickly followed by the amendment to the original law in 1909. The Copyright Act of 1909 expanded the law of 1790 but also debuted some new provisions. The most important new provision was that a work needed a proper notice of copyright protection and a publisher to be protected. The Act would not be amended again for another half century.
Finally, in 1976 the Copyright Law was amended and is the one still in place today. The two important provisions wrought by this alteration were a concept of Fair Use clause and a term limit for the copyright
Overview
The copyright law is something that has become a topic of discussion in the age of the Internet. The Internet has given us the ability to send and receive information whether we have created it or not. The first rumblings of a potential problem to the copyright laws was the computer function of burning discs. With this ability you could take information from your computer and redistribute it at a reduced or non-existent price. This ability has cost recording companies and artists a lot of money, so how does the copyright law protect them? To answer this question we have to look at the origin of the law.The copyright law was founded in 1790 as a way to encourage and stimulate economic growth. The law was put in place to give creative protection to aspiring American writers, charters and map makers who stood to make a profit from the redistribution of their work. However, this law was not originally American. In 1709 the British had something called the Statute of Anne. This law prevented printers, booksellers and other persons from printing, reprinting, republishing, or causing any of these actions to the detriment of the writer. This original law expressed British people’s belief that intellectual and creative property as original and protect-able.
In 1891 the U.S. Government put in place the International Copyright Act that protected not only U.S. citizens, but also everyone in the world. This act was quickly followed by the amendment to the original law in 1909. The Copyright Act of 1909 expanded the law of 1790 but also debuted some new provisions. The most important new provision was that a work needed a proper notice of copyright protection and a publisher to be protected. The Act would not be amended again for another half century.
Finally, in 1976 the Copyright Law was amended and is the one still in place today. The two important provisions wrought by this alteration were a concept of Fair Use clause and a term limit for the copyright
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